Although a policy is not a theoretical or conceptual discussion, it must be based on a thorough understanding of the various theoretical and conceptual elements that influence collection development. These elements must be reflected and articulated well in the policy narrative itself.
Theory in application gives direction to what we do and explains why we do it. A detailed, clearly written policy document also serves as a means of educating and informing various client groups about the role collection development plays in the total program of the school and about the role that librarians, teachers, administrators, and others play in the process of developing and maintaining viable collections. Generally, an explanation of collection development can be based around six concepts:
Culture and its general expectations
Society and the requirements for social order
The role of modern education as a cultural system
Institutions such as schools and the roles they play in society and culture
Curriculum analysis and mandates
Group and individual needs.
Culture refers in part to the body of learned behavior of human societies. To have a workable society, individuals must cooperate so that activities carried on within the society satisfy both social and individual needs. Learned activities are handed down from generation to generation within the society and become a part of the social order. Human activities are so numerous and complex that most cultures must rely on systems that are based on ideas as well as structures that include constructs and propositions expressed as symbols. Culture is then transmitted from generation to generation through the ideas and symbols inherited in and understood within the culture. Such systems are necessary to communicate cultural knowledge and to coordinate activities within the culture.
Education in some form is necessary in all cultures for this knowledge to be transferred, and schools and their curricula are fundamental to this process. In recent years, educators have viewed the curriculum as a means of selecting necessary elements from the culture. By using cultural analysis, a meaningful curriculum can be planned to successfully transfer cultural values through the formal educational process.
The school library media collection development plan is often referred to as the selection policy. As such, it reflects most of the points made above. A school collection development plan may be designed at the district level, at the school building level, or at both levels. A school collection development plan intended to serve an entire school district or system should address several basic elements. Various publications AASL offer the following guidelines for designing a policy.
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